THE ISSUE: Some are calling for students to spend more time in physical education.

THE IMPACT: A Senate bill, labeled unrealistic by some school administrators, would require 150 minutes per week of physical education for all elementary school students, and 225 minutes per week for students in middle and high school.

Gerry Tuoti Wicked Local Newsbank Editor

For more than 20 years, the amount of time students spend in gym class has dwindled, but state Sen. Tom McGee hopes to reverse that trend.

With childhood obesity rates rising in recent decades and many children failing to get the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity, physical education should be an important part of the school day, said McGee, a Lynn Democrat.

He introduced a bill earlier this year that would require that elementary school students participate in at least 150 minutes of physical education each week. Students in middle and high school would be required to take physical education for at least 225 minutes per week.

“I think the idea is not so much that we’re trying to do something that’s a challenge for communities to fund, but recognize that this is something that should be part of the school day,” McGee said.

Previous versions of the bill, which have been introduced each session since 2003, have failed to pass.

Support among school administrators will likely be hard to come by, said Tom Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents. In schools, multiple competing interests often vie for limited time and resources.

“Essentially what would be four hours a week at the secondary level would be an extraordinary amount of time,” Scott said. “It is important for kids to be physically fit, but I think, realistically, it’s not going to be terribly feasible.”

Since Massachusetts passed a major education reform law in 1993, schools have been required to provide physical education, but there are no guidelines for the amount of time devoted to such programs. Daily physical education has become uncommon.

“We’ve been trying to educate the superintendents and classroom educators who think we still play dodge ball,” said Maria Melchionda, executive director of the Massachusetts Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. “We’re cutting edge in Massachusetts with physical education, but we’re never recognized for it.”

A quality physical education program, she said, promotes social and emotional growth, cooperative learning and fitness. A program could include skill-based games, dance or gymnastics.

“Athletics is not the same as physical education,” she said.

As an emphasis on evaluating student achievement through standardized testing has increased over the past two decades, many schools have devoted more resources to the core academic subjects. That, Scott said, makes McGee’s proposal impractical for many schools.

“The reality is many of our schools today are largely following the path of those things that get evaluated,” Scott said. “There’s a heavy emphasis on academic core subjects. Those are the scores people think about.”

While Scott said that’s not the case in every district, it’s a typical approach in many communities, particularly those that have limited resources and struggle to boost student achievement.

Generally, academic subjects are the top priority in schools.

“People prioritize the time they have and do it in an academic realm,” Scott said. “If all things were equal and we could expand the school day for everyone, then this would be perfectly appropriate and make perfect sense.”

McGee, whose bill would require physical education to include fitness, health, nutrition and wellness, said daily physical activity would help students focus in the classroom.

“If you’re just sitting around all day, it’s tough to focus …” McGee said. “I think the important piece people need to understand is that being physically fit improves students’ ability to learn. We want to focus on improving testing, but we ignore the other parts that make that possible.”

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